[iwar] [fc:The.EcoTerrorist.Anthrax.Connection]

From: Fred Cohen (fc@all.net)
Date: 2001-10-26 16:59:35
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From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net>
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Date: Fri, 26 Oct 2001 16:59:35 -0700 (PDT)
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Subject: [iwar] [fc:The.EcoTerrorist.Anthrax.Connection]
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he EcoTerrorist Anthrax Connection
By Tom DeWeese 10.23.01
While the remains of the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York
and Washington, DC's Pentagon are "ground zero" for the horrible destruction
wrought by foreign terrorists, the nation's forests, research labs, resorts
and housing developments have long been "ground zero" for domestic
environmentally-driven "ecoterrorists." There may be diabolical links
between the two forces.
There is a strong possibility that Animal Liberation Front (ALF) terrorists
have come into possession of Anthrax as the result of having invaded
laboratories that have been researching the disease. This certainly merits
investigation as a source for the Anthrax attacks. The fact that the Anthrax
used in the recent U.S. attacks is domestic and not of "weapons grade"
indicates the possibility of involvement by a U.S. terrorist group. Using
the September 11th attacks as cover, ALF could be using them to shield its
own activities. The British government is investigating ALF for possible
ties to that country's outbreak of mad cow disease last year.
There is ample reason to suspect that eco-terrorists could have direct ties
and are working in concert with foreign terrorists. First, both forces are
made up of radical activists who have expressed immense hatred for American
industry and its capitalist society. Both operate underground. Both are
structured along the same lines, using secret cells, and communication
networks. Both are determined to destroy America's way of life.
More importantly, there is precedent for such cooperation. It is well
documented that international terrorists from the Islamic Jihad to the Irish
Republican Army, to a variety of violent cells in Europe and Japan have been
in communication with each other, even offering cooperation.
It is not unreasonable that enemies of America would see an opportunity in
working with dedicated revolutionaries in the environmental terrorist
movement that are able to travel freely inside our borders as American
citizens.
In 1999, during preparations for possible Y2K terrorist attacks, the U.S.
military staged urban assault training in San Francisco. One of the military
officers in charge of the training exercise explained to The DeWeese Report
that the San Francisco mission was specifically designed to train troops to
react to a biological terrorist attack.
Moreover, he said that this particular scenario dealt with the fact that
American terrorist groups, such as Earth First! and the Earth Liberation
Front (ELF), were known to have been in contact with outside terrorist
organizations. These U.S based groups, he said, were helping to make plans
to aid such murderous, biological attacks from within the U.S.
Is the FBI investigating the possibility? Probably not. Under former
Attorney General Janet Reno, the FBI was under direct orders to leave such
groups alone. As a result, to date, the FBI has few records on Earth First!,
ALF or ELF.
In response to the growing violence of eco-terrorism, Congressman George
Nethercutt has introduced H.R. 2795, "The Agroterrorism Prevention Act." The
bill was introduced before the September 11th attacks. However, Congress
made no moves to pass the legislation. In October, Congressman Nethercutt
made the connection between the foreign terrorist threat and the domestic
environmental terrorists and attempted to add the bill to anti-terrorism
legislation called for by President Bush. Congress refused to take that
action, failing to understand the connection with environmental terrorists.
Now, Congressman Nethercutt must begin again to get his legislation enacted.
Among others things, says Nethercutt, "H.R.2795 would empower the FBI to
track down extremist cells of ALF and ELF and would give federal prosecutors
the tools they need to properly punish and deter crimes by these
organizations."
The FBI has defined terrorism as: "The unlawful use of force or violence
against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a Government, the
civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or
social objectives." That definition fits eco-terrorists perfectly. If we are
engaged in a war on terrorism, then its time to take out all of the violent
thugs who prey on innocent people and their property. Ecoterrorists have
been around a long time and they too have largely been ignored. They
advocate the violent overthrow of the old order. They communicate through
dispatches in radical publications. They hide in safe houses and live and
work in "cells" with no organized structure, no recognized leadership,
manned by dedicated extremist foot soldiers focused on destroying America's
way of life. Many use aliases to hide their identities. They bomb, burn, and
sabotage private property. They issue declarations of war against America.
They too are preparing for massive destruction. They are American-born, and
they operate right here on American soil.
Not only should Americans be more aware of the ecoterrorists' threat, we
should take a hard look at the comparable objectives they share with
external terrorists such as bin Laden's al Qaeda network. Incredibly, so
far, the U.S. Government has refused to do so.
In February 2001, then-FBI Director Louis Freeh identified ecoterrorist
organizations such as the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) as one of America's
foremost domestic terrorism threats. The FBI's announcement came on the
heels of a January 1st ELF communiqué proclaiming, "This year, 2001, we hope
to see an escalation in tactics against capitalism and industry."
Most ecoterrorist activity seems to revolve around one group, Earth First!
It was founded in 1979 by Dave Foreman who now serves on the Board of
Directors of the Sierra Club. He is also a co-creator of the radical
environmental blue print called "The Wildlands Project." From the beginning,
the structure of Earth First! was "informal" in order to avoid prosecution.
It called itself a "movement" rather than an organization. There was no
bureaucracy, no lobbyist, no paid staff, and only a cadre of volunteers.
There were no membership lists, no lists of names of any kind, and no way to
trace anyone to any activity.
For his model of the new group, Foreman adopted Edward Abbey's
industry-killing novel, "The Monkey Wrench Gang." The book described acts of
sabotage. Forman would call Earth First!'s attacks "eco-tage."
"Monkeywrenching" was a term used by Earth First! activists who poured sugar
into the gas tanks of bulldozers to destroy the equipment of the hated
timber companies. A favorite "Monkeywrenching" trick was to pound spikes
into trees. At the mills, saws hitting the spikes would explode like
shrapnel. One worker lost most of his face when his blade hit an undetected
spike. Over the years, "Monkeywrenchers" have become fond of sending mail
bombs and letters in envelopes lined with razor blades. It pre-stages
today's Anthrax-filled envelopes.
Today, Foreman's vision of radical environmental action has spawned a
violent network of eco-terrorists and it's on the rise. They include the
Earth Liberation Front, the Earth Liberation Army, and the Environmental
Rangers, to name a few. Joining forces with the ecoterrorists are the
equally violent animal rights terrorists. The most prominent of these is the
Animal Liberation Front. Just as Earth First! is a violent offshoot of the
mainstream Sierra Club, animal rights terrorists have links to the
well-known People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
There have, to date, been more than 3,000 acts of violence perpetrated by
ecoterrorists. For years Americans were warned of potential attacks by
foreign terrorists like Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, and the Islamic
Jihad. We ignored those warnings to our peril. We continue to ignore our
domestic eco-terrorists at our peril. Inspired by the World Trade Center and
Pentagon attacks, it will not be long before ecoterrorists and animal rights
terrorists seek to demonstrate their capacity to wreak horror and death
among American institutions and people.
Tom DeWeese is the president of the American Policy Forum, an activist
grassroots think tank headquartered in Warrenton, Virginia.

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